How will N.J.'s next governor fix the pension system? We asked the candidates.

One of the biggest challenges confronting New Jersey's next governor will be how to stop the runaway train that is our state's pension mess. The long-term pension hole is $44 billion -- nearly $10 billion more than the state spends on everything in given year.

The hole was dug by politicians from both parties going back a quarter century, and governors over the past decade have failed to stem the tide.

With the primaries a few months away, we asked Democratic and Republican governor candidates for their pension fixes. Some said they'll release their plans in weeks to come. Those with plans on the board propose everything from cutting public worker benefits and reinstating a millionaire's tax to using legalized marijuana or a north Jersey casino as a pension cash cow.

Take a look at what they're saying.

Jack Ciattarelli, Republican

Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Somerset) insists that the state will be financially "paralyzed" on all other spending if it doesn't resolve its pension crisis.

His plan offers know easy answers, but plenty of hard ones. They include:

No post-retirement healthcare benefit for current and future public worker retirees if pension plus Social Security exceeds $50,000 per year.

All public workers with less than 10 years in system must switch over to cash balance pension plan that has some components of a 401k, and all newly hired public workers must enroll in defined contribution pension plan similar to a 401k.

All newly hired teachers will have pension and Social Security paid by the local school district, not the state.

A campaign spokesman for Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno declined to supply NJ Advance Media with her plan to fix the retirement system, saying it would be forthcoming in the weeks to come.

Guadagno has publicly disagreed with Gov. Chris Christie's decision to sign into a law a bill requiring quarterly pension payments.

Steve Rogers, Republican

Nutley town commissioner Steve Rogers compares the current pension system's structure to a financial vampire "that is sucking the blood out of our taxpayers' veins."

But he stresses the key to fixing pensions isn't breaking old agreements, but breaking current monopolies on retirees healthcare.

"I will work to establish a policy that is consistent with President Trump's nationwide competitive plan giving public employees the opportunity to purchase their health care benefits at a lower cost," Rogers said.

"Post-retirement health care benefits for current retirees must be honored by the state," Rogers said.

But those cost-of-living increases pensioners covet can only be afforded by increasing competition for health care, which he believes will drive down prices.

Joseph Rullo, Republican

A television actor and small businessman from Ocean County, Joe Rullo says the main culprit behind the state's badly-listing pension system is Wall Street.

"The pension fees went from $125 million to $700 million per year in the last seven years," said Rullo.